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UPDATE 1-Porsche posts strong rise in H1 profit

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FRANKFURT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - German sportscar maker Porsche AG posted a sharp rise in pre-tax profit in the first half of its fiscal year, once again defying weak economic conditions hitting other automakers.

The world's most profitable carmaker said its pre-tax profit in the six months to January 31 had risen 18 percent to 185.1 million euros ($199 million) while revenues were up almost 20 percent to about 2.2 billion euros.

Porsche also said in a statement ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that first-half unit sales were up 5.2 percent to about 24,684 vehicles, according to preliminary figures.

The company reiterated it was on track for a ninth consecutive year of record profit and said it would sell about 65,000 vehicles in the year ending in July, up from 54,234 vehicles in the previous year.

Porsche is banking on its new Cayenne sports utility vehicle (SUV) to lift overall sales and profit and has said it may struggle to sell as many of its 911 and Boxster sportscars in its current fiscal year as it did last time round.

Sales of the classic high-margin 911 rose about 4.3 percent to 13,697 vehicles in the first half, while sales of the small Boxster fell 8.4 percent.

Porsche tends to sell more cars and book most of its profit in its fiscal second half, and investors are hoping the launch later in the year of 911 derivatives including a range-topping GT3 will cushion a downturn in its sportscar sales.

But some analysts are concerned that expectations for the Cayenne may be riding too high, pointing out a potential shift to smaller-engined SUVs in the United States and a growing trend towards diesel in the luxury off-roader market in Europe.

"Porsche is likely to find it difficult to top last year's operational and financial performance," investment bank SSSB, which has an underperform rating on the stock, said in a recent research note.

Porsche's pre-tax profit jumped 40 percent to 828 million euros in its last business year.